“Hello Dolly!”: It’s hard to beat “Hello Dolly!” for a good time at the theater. And the Northwest Savoyards have just about guaranteed their production will be a hit by casting Laura Abel as Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi.
Abel’s voice is as big as her on-stage personality so she’s sure to be a p
erfect match for the Dolly role and to unleash songs such as “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Before the Parade Passes By” and the eponymous, “Hello, Dolly.”
And to sweeten the deal, Abel is being matched with her off-stage husband, Mark Abel, who will play the wealthy Horace Vandergelder.
The Abels haven’t been paired up since the Savoyards did “Gypsy” in 2006, when Laura played Mama Rose and Mark was cast as her long-suffering companion, Herbie. The couple’s on-stage chemistry was genuine so expect an encore.
In this theatrical classic, matchmaker Dolly Levi attempts in a wickedly clever way to match herself up to Vandergelder without him really catching on.
Meanwhile, Dolly has other pairs to match, including the rich widow Irene Molloy with Vandergelder’s employee, Cornelius Hackl.
There’s also Molloy’s assistant, Minnie, and Cornelius’ assistant, Barnaby, and the poor artist Ambrose with Vandergelder’s niece, Ermengarde.
But the musical goes beyond the sentimental. “Hello, Dolly!” captures small-town Americana with a setting based in Yonkers, N.Y., in the 1890s. This snapshot has been recreated, in part, by director Janet Pope who incorporates odd circus and freak show acts of the period, as well as the suffragist movement and Civil War veterans, into the Act I finale, “Before the Parade Passes By.”
Choreographer is Phil Lacey with musical direction by the talented David Spring.
“Hello, Dolly!” opens at 8 p.m. today at Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett. Shows are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through June 19. Tickets are $22 and $19. Call 425-258-6766 or go to www.EverettTheatre.org.
“The Smell of the Kill”: The Phoenix Theatre is billing its final show of the season as a dark comedy that takes the idea of desperate housewives to a whole new level.
Michele Lowe’s “The Smell of the Kill” spotlights three unhappy housewives married to three oblivious husbands. They gather at a ho-hum dinner party where the wives begin to wax fantastical about widowhood.
As the ladies go through the topics of a faulty walk-in freezer and the what-ifs, the question hangs in the air like the smell of a burned pot roast: Will they do it?
“The Smell of the Kill” opens at 8 p.m. today at The Phoenix, 9673 Firdale Ave., Edmonds. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through June 26.
Tickets are $18, $15 and $12 for groups. Call 206-533-2000 or go to www.phoenixtheatreedmonds.com.
“Annie”: The Whidbey Playhouse brings this feel-good production of the irrepressible orphan Annie who is determined to find her parents who gave her up at the door of a not-so-reputable New York City orphanage.
Annie escapes the hard-knock life under the thumb of cruel drunkard Miss Hannigan and finds a mutt named Sandy and a new family with billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
“Annie” opens at 7:30 p.m. today at The Whidbey Playhouse, 730 SE Midway Blvd., Oak Harbor. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and June 12, 19 and 26.
All tickets are $16. Call 360-679-2237 or go to www.whidbeyplayhouse.com.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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